


Pantophobia

by Rainbow711



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Clowns, Fair, Gore, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-15 15:39:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2234382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow711/pseuds/Rainbow711
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke should never have let his friends drag him to that fair. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>{Not as cliche as I'm making it seem}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost in the bright lights

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. This was originally fiction on mibba, tumblr and my facebook but I couldn't get the characters right so I made it fanfic.

Pantophobia-the morbid fear of everything  


When you say you’re afraid of heights: they’ll tell you you’re afraid of falling. When you say you’re afraid of clowns: they’ll tell you that you’re afraid of the people hiding behind the paint. When you say you’re afraid of the dark: they’ll tell you you’re afraid of what’s hiding in it. Luke knows these things better than anyone.  


==  


Ever since Luke can remember he’s been afraid; he’s been afraid of everything, from insects to the elderly. He can’t really give you a good reason; he knows that most of them are irrational, but he can’t help it. Feeling the anxiety rising and eating at his insides when he sees and old lady with a walker or when a plastic bag floats past making a startling noise is common. His psychologist says he has pantophobia. Luke thinks his psychologist is just milking his parents for their money. Nothing she’s tries helps him; he even believes she makes it worse.   
  
Even with this long list of phobias or large collective phobia, Luke has managed to make a few friends, not many, but they’re true friends. He can always count on Calum, Ashton, Michael and Jack. He knows if he needs a distraction he can go to Calum, the sweet boy with dark wavy hair and mischievous eyes. When he needs a shoulder to lean on, he can turn to Ashton the open-minded boy with kind hazel eyes that pierce through you in a way that doesn’t make you feel violated, but vulnerable; he makes it okay to tell him anything and knows when your hiding something. Michael is the only person who can stop his panic-attacks and make him feel at ease with just a look, or safe while in the multi-coloured haired boy’s slim arms. And Jack, well Jack just popped into his life one day and Luke doesn’t have the courage to tell the awkward skunk-haired boy to leave.

 

===

 

Jack has also managed to be the only one out of their little group able to force Luke outside of his comfort zone; which is how Luke ended up here, at the annual Havoc Port Fair, attached to Michael’s arm like a leech. Everything is extremely overwhelming; all the unfamiliar people, scents, sounds and sights. He just wishes he could go home and take a very long, very hot shower to rid himself of all the unfamiliarity. Of course, Jack has other plans; he calmly walks up to Luke and wraps his arm awkwardly around the boy’s shoulders while not-so-subtly dragging him towards the Farris-wheel. Luke is so overwhelmed by his surroundings that he doesn’t take notice until he is at the bottom of the large ride he deemed a death trap the second he saw it.  
  
Looking up at the heavy metal structure, he can’t help but think of how many things could potentially-no matter how unlikely-go wrong. All the germs burrowing through his skin, the thought of the ride stalling resulting in him being trapped for who knows how long or even the most implausible, the ride coming apart at its hinges rolling down into the nearby harbour and drowning him to death are all thoughts passing through his head. He tries to look on the positive side of things and take in the bright colourful lights, the cheerful music and think of the wind sweeping though his hair, but his thoughts go dark and he thinks of being electrocuted, the song stalling and loud screeching playing over the speakers making his ears ring for hours or birds flying into his face.  
  
Trying to persuade his friends into not going on the ride is pointless; they all give him the same look: a cross between pity, disappointment, understanding and tough-luck. After dragging him into the line, two of the boys hold onto him tightly so he can’t run off and they won’t lose their place. Calum and Jack are gossiping quietly about how attractive they find the ride operator with his lip ring and tattoos in front of them. Luke feels Ashton’s grip on his arm tighten every time Calum agrees with Jack. He turns his head to Ash and gives him a knowing yet sympathetic look and gets a sad acknowledging smile in return. The closer to the ride the group gets, the tighter the boys grip his arms.  
  
When they finally get on the ride Cal and Jack take the first seat, Luke convinces Ashton to join them as he wouldn’t fit in the seat with himself and Michael since two out of the three boys have broad shoulders. Ashton shoots him a grateful smile as he slips in between the two boys already in the seat. Next Michael lets Luke climb into the seat first then sits close enough to him that their thighs and sides are touching although there is still some room left in the car. Luke’s grateful for the comforting contact but he still feels nervous. “You’ll be fine; I’ve got you,” whispers Michael. His hot breath causing fog to appear in the night air and a chill to run through Luke that he hopes with all his being Michael did not feel.  
  
As the ride starts rising so does Luke’s anxiety level. The “hot carnie” as Cal and Jack had dubbed him gives Luke a glance that says “are you sure you want to do this” while letting the ride rise teasingly slow. Once Luke hesitantly gives him a nod he turns ride to normal speed and locks the controls. The closer to the top the two boys get, the closer Michael gets to Luke. Once at the top Luke is trembling with a mantra of ‘don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t you dare look down’ falling from his lips. Michael wraps his arms around the scared boy right when the ride jerks to a stop as they reach the top.  
  
Luke’s panicking doesn’t get any better when Michael holds him tighter. Multiple thoughts keep flying through his head. _Are we gonna die? Is this supposed to happen? Is this gonna hurt? Will we be forgotten?_ Michael leans closer to the frightened boy in his arms and says ‘this is supposed to happen’ while bringing the boy closer, almost pulling him into his lap. Seeing that his words had little effect on his friend Michael carefully presses his lips to Luke’s temple and feels him still. ‘Why did you do that?’ Luke asks looking into his friend and not-so-secret crush’s bright green eyes. ‘Because I wanted too and you’re supposed to kiss on the top of the Farris-wheel’ Michael replies slowly as if Luke was a toddler who wouldn’t understand. Luke huffs and tries to turn away from Michael before remembering that they’re way too far off the ground for anybody to feel safe.  
  
Luke then processes the words Michael just said to him and turns back to the older boy, staring at the rainbow-haired boy with wide eyes he asks, “You wanted to?” At that Michael lets out a full bellied laugh that should embarrass him but won’t. Calming down from laughing he looks at the pout on Luke’s face and stops mid-laugh. “Oh come on Boo, you can’t honestly think I don’t like you back” he says with a fond smile that made his eyes seem to sparkle with the teasing he’s withholding in his tone. Luke feels a blush rise to his slightly round cheeks and ducks his head before mumbling, “Am I really that obvious?” This only makes Michael’s smile grow and eyes crinkle at how adorable his friend could be.

 

After gazing at Luke adoringly for a minute or two Michael cautiously leans towards his taller friend and gently places his index finger underneath his chin, making Luke look at him. He smiles as the blush on Luke’s cheeks deepens and he tries to look away; Michael gripping his chin to prevent his movement. Luke watches with hitched breath as Michael leans towards him and closes his dazzling green eyes. Luke begins to lean closer to Michael and closes his deep icy-blues. In their excitement the boys miss each other’s mouths; Michael places a kiss on the bridge of Luke’s nose instead. The boys’ chuckle and blush before trying again. This time Michael keeps his eyes open until the last second before pressing his lips to Luke’s. Luke feels the worry and the panic fade for a moment. Of course it’s still there, nothing could make it go away, but with Michael so close he feels safe and calmer than he has before.  
  
The kiss only lasts a few seconds as they hear cheering and break apart to see what the fuss is about. When they look around they see their friends smiling like the Cheshire cat and clapping like seals. To be quite honest they look ridiculous but it still makes a pink blush settle the cheeks of both boys; Luke's being deeper since his previous one had yet to fade. The ride resumes movement so the boys turn around in their seat. Luke holds on to Michael by his waist for the remainder of the ride. When they exit the metal gates surrounding the ride the carnie gives Luke an impressed look while eyeing Michael up and down. Ashton bursts into laughter at the look of utter disappointment that is now painted on the other boys faces. Walking away from the ride Michael’s arm hooks itself around Luke’s waist. Jack then decides he wants to enjoy the wonders of deep-fried food offered at the concession stands and herds the rest of the group towards the line of them.  


Getting closer the stands they start to hear yelling. At first Luke thinks ‘oh great a fight’, but when he pays attention he hears, “come and get your corn dogs, straight outta the fryer! They’re nice and HOT!” He sees a young girl about his age almost hanging out of the ordering window. She keeps screaming the same few lines and waving her arms wildly to attract attention; her long medium brown hair keeps falling into her eyes as she moves. Jack likes her enthusiasm so he decides that hers was the stand he would go to. After ordering his food and paying, the group waits patiently for the girl to prepare what he asked for. Retrieving his food Jack thanks the girl and walks toward a picnic table expecting his friends to follow, which they do.  
  
Jack offers to share some of his food with the rest of his friends but they all decline, giving him disgusted looks for eating something oozing with that much grease. Jack moans at the taste dramatically, loving how grossed out his friends are. He keeps eating slowly as to prolong his friend’s disgust. The group was sitting close to a large blocked off section of concrete that’s intended for entertainment. Jack, Ashton and Michael have their backs facing the entertainment area so they don’t see the next act nearing the slab of concrete to perform. Calum is the first to notice the performers and immediately latches himself onto Luke. The blonde boy jumps at the sudden contact and is about to give the dark-haired boy a questioning look when he notices how scared he is and a bright red wig catches his eye. He jumps and grabs Michael’s hand once he realises that the next act just happens to be clowns.  
  
A crowd begins to gather around the group of friends as the clowns begin their act. Michael turns around and his eyes widen when he sees that one of the clowns is approaching their table. He grips Luke’s hand tighter while nudging Ashton and glancing at Calum as an explanation for the action. His eyes widen when he sees the terrified look painted on his crushes face and rushes to the other side of the table. When he sees the reason for the fright he has to stifle a laugh. Calum mumbles a ‘shut up’ while curling further into his friend’s chest. The clown gets to the table and asks ‘could one of you volunteer to help us with the act?’ Jack doesn’t miss a beat before he’s jumping up and exclaiming loudly that he’ll do whatever they need. He and the clown walk back through the crowd to the concrete slab where two other clowns are waiting.  
  
The female clown introduces herself to Jack as Bella. She then comments on how strong he looks and asks the crowd if they should test her theory. The crowd cheers eager to see what ridiculousness is to come. The taller clown introduces himself as Boozo then whispers a good luck to Jack before he starts pilling thin colourful sheets that seem to be made of foam onto Jack’s now outstretched arms. Jack smirks as he finishes placing 6 sheets on his arms. The smallest clown with bright red hair that asked Jack to volunteer gives him a smile that almost appears malicious. He then drags a large red star-covered crate in front of Jack. The three-foot clown jumps up on the crate and begins talking, ‘ladies and gentlemen I think Bella and Boozo are going far too easy on our friend here, what do you think?’ the crowd roars with cheers and applause. The little clown turns to look at Jack with a glint in his eye that makes the tall boy nervous. ‘The crowd is always right” says the clown. “Let Zany show you how it’s done,” he says, jumping down from the crate, stumbling a little as he does so.  
  
While he’s making a show of digging in the crate, Boozo comes to his aid and starts pulling out random objects alongside Zany. Boozo loses his blue fisherman-like hat while bending over the crate, exposing his red-brown shoulder length hair that looks natural. Oranges, rubber chickens, whoopee cushions and thicker foam-looking bricks are among the items removed from the seemingly bottomless crate. Boozo starts stacking the colourful bricks in a pattern of blue, red, green, yellow and orange, on top of the inch thick sheets already in Jack’s arms. Out of the corner of his eye Jack sees Bella starting to make intricate balloon shapes, pushing her blood-red hair from in front of her glasses covered eyes. Zany finally finding what he’s looking for at the bottom of the crate is having a slight problem retrieving it as he’s half-hanging in the crate. Once he regains his footing, he curses his small stature then quickly puts what he found behind his back and out of view from Jack. The crowd gets quiet as they see what the little clown has. They’re anticipating and fearing to find out what he plans to do with his little secrets.  
  
Luke can’t see what the clown’s hiding and it’s making his anxiety rise. The group of friends are becoming more and more packed in as the crowd that’s gathering grows in number. They’re now all perched on the top of the picnic table in hope of seeing the spectacle but their attempt is mostly in vain. The short clown has his side to them. Cal and Ash can however see that Jack’s starting to sweat, but he doesn’t appear to be straining with the effort of holding up the foam, they assume that he’s getting nervous. Michael glances at Luke and then the other two to see how they’re holding up then back at Luke. Calum’s shaking slightly and looking at the act through his fingers like a child watching a horror movie. Ashton’s a little frustrated he can’t see what’s going on and Luke’s doing surprisingly well considering he’s surrounded by people and it would be hard for him to escape if his anxiety gets the better of him. Michael assumes he’s still in his own little bubble and as long as he’s happy, Michael would do everything he could to keep him there.  
  
Turning his attention back the clowns he sees Bella place the balloon shapes around Jack’s body. The balloon animal -if it could even be called that- resembles an anorexic anaconda that was too ambitious in selecting his prey and now has to face the consequences of struggling to wrap around its victim to strangle it to death before swallowing it whole. In all honesty Jack looks ridiculous and like he’s regretting volunteering to help. Bella and Boozo place themselves on either side of Jack as Zany approaches. The little clown looks up at Jack and is smug enough to have a condescending look plastered on his face that only Jack could see. He takes one of his hands from behind his back and waves it in the air saying, ‘Now I know what you’re holding isn’t very heavy but let’s see if you can hold on to it while being distracted’ then turns back to face the audience now hiding what he’s holding in front of his chest. ‘Do you think that our friend is ready?’ he asks. At this the audiences cheers the loudest so far that night. Zany turns around and Jack sees something reflective catch the light before returning to its hiding spot behind his back. The small clown sees the questioning look in Jack’s dark brown eyes and smirks at him. He then returns to his place on the crate still facing Jack. ‘Let the fun begin!’ he shouts before stabbing a large blade vertically through the middle of the foam bricks in Jack’s arms. Jack tries to jerk back as soon as he sees the blade but is held in place as Bella and Boozo grab his arms, large smiles on their faces as if there was no risk of Jack getting hurt.  
  
Jack tries again to remove himself from the clowns grasp but they hold firm. From where Michael is standing he could see the look of panic flash through Jack’s brown eyes as well as the evil smirk plastered on the little clowns face. The evil clown jabs another blade vertically into the blocks; this blade closer to the edge, but not going in as deep as the last. Michael feels Luke curl into his side and hears the others shriek. He leads Luke to the other boys’ side of the table and he immediately latches onto them. Michael then starts to push through the crowd to Jack. As he’s making his way forward he sees the little clown stab another blade close to the other edge of the foam blocks just as deep as the last. Jack exhales shakily, not looking forward to finding out how many more blades the not-so-innocent clown behind the smirk has left.  
  
Michael’s struggle to get through the crowd gets harder the closer he gets to Jack as people start to push back against him and condense forward to get a better view of the spectacle. The little clown then turns to the audience and asks ‘Do you think he can handle the rest?’ the crowd roars. Michael is shoved backwards. He’s pushed to the ground as the crowd tries pack in tighter. While Michael’s on the ground protecting his head the little clown quickly jabs three more blades into the foam horizontally, the ends sticking out the sides facing Bella. He then takes one last sword and jabs it in the section on foam closest to Jack’s heart and pops a balloon, the rest following in a domino effect. The crowd begins clapping and wait to see if the clowns are going to do anything else.  
  
Jack lets out a shaky breath of relief as the clowns at his sides release his arms to begin applauding and thanking him. The little clown who’s still standing on the crate turns back to the audience and says ‘wasn’t he wonderful everyone? He didn’t drop anything! Let’s give him another round of applause!’ while smiling sweetly and jumping down from the crate. Bella begins removing the swords and placing them back in the crate. Boozo removes the bricks from Jack’s arms as they are freed of the blades and starts stacking them neatly in the crate. Zany digs into the crate and brings out 9 batons slowly lighting each one and tossing three to each clown as Jack walks into the crowd and helps Michael to his feet.  
  
The boys walk back to their friends and they all hug Jack. Calum starts talking Jack’s ear off, he refuses to let go of him for at least 5 minutes, without complaint from Jack, much to Ashton’s annoyance. The others look at the pair with fond smiles loving how cute they are. Once Jack’s released he decides they should enjoy the rest of the fair and try to forget the incident that has now made him fear clowns.  
  
The group goes on more rides with Luke waiting on the ground. Michael had offered to stay with him or take him home but he declined refusing to ruin Michael’s night because he’s scared. The last ride the group decides to go on before joining Luke is the tilt-a-whirl. Luke watches with a smile on his face and a laugh caught in his throat as his friends laugh, scream and grin on the ride. The ride keeps spinning, his friends momentarily blocked from his view on the ground. The ride continues for a few more revolutions before Luke feels a cloth cover his mouth and nose. He feels himself being dragged away just before the ride turns and his friends look over with silly looks on their faces to where Luke’s expected to be. The ride continues for a couple more minutes as Michael’s worry increases. Once they finally finish spinning and are let out of the car Michael runs to where Luke should have been waiting for him.  
  
Jumping up on a nearby bench, Michael looks around not seeing the blonde head of hair he’s looking for. The others are on the ground looking for him as well but none of them see him.

Luke’s growing tired. He can see his friends searching for something with worried looks on their faces through the thick trees but he can’t put a reason to the reactions he’s witnessing. Luke lets his eyes fall shut as he’s being laid down on something cold and hard. Whatever he’s now lying on is rocking slightly like it was trying to lull him to sleep and he’s too weak to do anything but let it.

The group splits in two and set off in a different direction each looking for Luke. All of them are scared that something has happened. It was so out of character for him to just walk off that they’re having a hard time coming up with other options. Michael and Jack started walking toward the food stands; weaving in and out of crowds calling out for Luke. When they had no luck the decided to go around the entertainment section and look there. Michael has a photo of Luke pulled up on his phone and is showing it to nearly every person he sees. He spots Bella walking towards one of the buildings and decides to go ask her. Jack calls out to her. The old clown turns, stops and smiles at the pair, waiting for them to catch up.  
  
When they catch up with the clown they show her the picture. She stares at the picture for a few moments before saying she had in fact seen him. She then returns Michael’s phone and begins walking away again. Jack and Michael shoot each other shocked/confused looks before starting after the old woman. She’s much faster than they anticipate so they have a hard time keeping up through the thick crowd. They call after the clown but get no response or sign of acknowledgement. Then she starts heading towards the pier. Michael grabs onto Jack’s hand when he starts to slow. He turns to him with a questioning look. Jack looks uneasy; he lets out a heavy sigh, “should we really be following a creepy stranger into the dark towards the creepy pier? Did you forget that she watched me nearly be impaled? Hmm? What if she tries to drown us!?” he shoots off questions until he’s gasping for breath. Michael glances at the retreating clown as she fades into the darkness. “She’s the only thing bringing us closer to Luke” he hisses through his teeth, dragging Jack after the clown.  
  
On the other side of the fair, Ashton and Calum are still searching through the crowd by the rides in hopes of spotting the missing boy. The fighting they’re doing wasn’t helping. “It was you’re idea to bring him to this stupid fair in the first place” spits Calum, only turning around to glare at Ashton before resuming searching. He groans, “I’m sorry for wanting him to get better and experience things”. Before Calum could continue the fight with another sassy remark a frantic Boozo interrupted him. “Sorry but um I saw this uh guy picking on y-your friend. He looked sc-scared” the awkward clown stuttered. The pair doesn’t hesitate before following the tall slim boy towards the pier.


	2. Pre-show Rituals

Michael and Jack keep following the old clown. She doesn’t seem to have any intention of stopping or seem to care that she’s being followed. She starts walking towards the first row of boats. She stops beside a large rock and bends down. From where Michael and Jack are catching up to her they can’t tell what she’s actually doing. Right when the clown starts to stand up both Michael and Jack feel a very strong arm wrap around them and press a damp cloth over their mouths. Michael starts to fight back but is met with a slight pinch in his neck and his surroundings start to spin. Jack sees Bella with a needle in her hand and is scared. He freezes on the spot. Michael is carried onto a boat by one of large men who pressed the cloths to their mouths, Jack being led slowly behind them by Bella and the other strongman. Jack sees Luke on the boat. He appears to be in a less then peaceful sleep, his body lying on the hard metal of the boat kind of slumped to the side. Before he can reach his friend he feels a pinch in his side, starts to feel sleepy then collapses to the floor.  
  
Bella drags the now passed out boy towards the first boy on the floor with the help of the second large man. Zany walks onto the boat with his painted red smile stretching over his face delightedly exclaiming that Boozo has actually managed to get the other two friends to follow him. Bella turns to the first large man who isn’t paying attention “Danny!” She snaps. “Watch over them and if any of them wake up give them a needle”. She waits for the strongman to nod before she leads Zany off of the boat to help Boozo.  
  
==

Ashton is getting nervous. They’ve been following the clown for five minutes and he hasn’t says anything else to them. They tried asking him more questions, but he ignored them completely and started walking faster. They hear footsteps but can’t tell where they’re coming from before they stop. The trio gets closer to the pier. They’re almost to the rows of boats when Calum is tripped and Ashton feels a sharp pain in the back of his shoulder. Calum looks up in time to see Ashton falling to the ground and goes to scream out to him but is gagged the second he opened his mouth. His gag is doused with some chemical, making him dizzy. He felt himself being dragged to his feet then shoved forwards. She started stumbling in the direction she’s being forced, much too tired to fight back. Her vision was getting fuzzier. The last thing she sees before passing out was that familiar smirk the little clown always seemed to have.  
  
Boozo stayed with the now passed out boy waiting for Danny to come and carry him to the boat. He really hoped Danny would hurry up. He’s beginning to feel guilty and anxious about this plan. The clown was starting to worry they wouldn’t get away with this plan. Then he sees Danny walking towards him. The strong man lifted the boy’s dead weight as if he are a feather then turned back towards the boat. Relief flooded through him once all three of them made it onto the boat.  
  
Zany was relaxing on the couch waiting for Danny to finish tying up the kids so they could take off. Gazing up at the ceiling he began to let his thoughts flow. What will happen when they meet the others? Will we be interrupted again? Will Boozo be able to handle this much longer? Will they give in? Or will they put up a fight? He’s shaken from his thoughts by Bella telling him their ready to leave.

The boat starts making its way out of the harbour and into the open water. Boozo sits at the back of the boat, watching the water ripple as the boat slowly pulls out. He begins to question if what they’re doing is worth the hassle and if they’d be able to finish this time. The clown really hopes the kids cooperated so Zany wouldn’t get mad or do something stupid again. Through the night Boozo kept thinking. The thinking clown was shaken awake just before sunrise when the boat docked.  
  
The group of friends on the boat began to awaken. Their wrists are all tied together and then to each other forming a chain. Following Bella off of the boat the group began walking towards a forest with a clown on each side and Danny in behind and he second strongman nowhere to be seen, they keep walking; weaving in and out of trees, over rocks, under fallen branches and even through a waist-deep river. They stopped only twice for food, drinks and bathroom breaks. The next two days are spent trekking through the forest. Late on the second day they come to a clearing.  
  
The clearing is large enough to house a stadium or two and still have a huge parking garage and looks as if it was just plowed giving Luke hope that they would be found. In the center of the clearing there was a large circle of rocks. The rocks are piled at least two feet off the ground. There are smaller circles of rocks piled half as high on the sides of the large circle. The group is lead through the clearing to the other side to where the clearing met the tree line. On the other side there is row after row of make-shift shacks. Not a sound could be heard coming from any of them leading Luke to believe they’re the only ones and that they would soon be separated. His assumptions are confirmed when he’s cut free of his binds and shoved into one of the small shacks.  
  
Luke hears the others being thrown into shacks. He hears the Calum and Jack each let out a squeal when they hit the ground that they will deny with their last breath, while the other two boys just make a thump then let out a groan. Once the last person is thrown, he hears the little clown shouting orders. He couldn’t make out what most of them are but he caught “prepare….the others….don’t fuck it up” as well as Boozo and another man giving a shaky “okay”. The fact that they all seemed to be afraid of the little clown made Luke nervous. What could be so bad that people would fear a three foot clown?  
  
Luke begins looking around the shack. He can’t see much due to the lack of light but the small crack under the door let him see enough for his breathing to become erratic. It’s a small room made from plywood and had no floor. The roof is a tarp but the shack is too tall for him to climb out of, even with him standing at just over six-foot. It’s just wide enough for him to sit cross-legged on the ground and have an inch between his back, knees and each of the walls. The worst part is the faint nail marks on all of the walls. Luke is beginning to see that the clowns had done this before and that they would be stuck here for quite a long time. The combination of these things is what makes Luke start to hyperventilate. His chest gets tighter the more air he tries to suck in. He tries to imagine Mikey’s calming voice walking him through a stupid breathing exercise he only follows because the other boy makes it sound so pleasant. He can’t calm himself down though. His head get fuzzier and his lungs are screaming like their being burned alive. Luke can’t hold himself upright anymore and passes out.

===  
  
The others aren’t dealing with their new situations much better. Jack is worrying about how the last thing he did before leaving the house was sneak up on his mom to scare her and hoping that wouldn’t be the last memory she gets of him. Ashton and Calum are worrying about each other. And Michael was freaking out over Luke. He isn’t even focused on the fact that he’s stuck in a way to small room and doesn’t know how long he would be stuck in there. He’s scared that Luke will have a panic attack and he won’t be there to help him. Michael is so preoccupied with thoughts of Luke he doesn’t notice the footsteps getting closer to his shack.

The door to the shack is swung open blinding him momentarily. Michael’s eyes adjust to see Boozo standing there trying to mask a worried look. The clown tells him to get up and follow him. They walk to the next row of shacks and stop at one. The clown unlocks it and looks down at Jack, tells him the same thing and they begin walking into the forest closest to the shacks. After ten minutes they come to another clearing this one only about the size of a football field, but this one resembles a trailer park. The rows of trailers are side by side length wise. There is a row on each side and a large empty section in the middle. Danny walks out from behind one of the trailers with the other man. In the daylight they can now see they share more than similar looks, red hair, blue eyes, well built the only difference is the other man is slightly shorter.  
  
The men had the boys follow them behind the farthest trailer on the left. A large stack of blue-grey and red-orange bricks lie in a pile 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. When the strongmen begin picking up bricks, the boys assume they’re supposed to help and start carrying bricks after the men. The men stop on the other end of the clearing, in the grassy section between the rows of trailers and began placing the bricks down to form small circles. The boys followed their lead and began doing the same a few feet away. When the men don’t say anything they assume they’re doing what is expected. By the time the sun begins setting they had made 6 circles out of the bricks, each only a foot wide and four bricks high. Each man grabbed one of the boys arms roughly before leading them back to their shack for the night with only a chewy granola bar to eat.

==

  
Luke hears people walking around his shack and becomes alert. Loud thumps followed by groans are heard, signalling more people are being thrown into shacks. Over the next few minutes doors are being opened then slammed quickly rattling the flimsy shacks. His heart begins to race with fear as the sounds gets closer; the heavy footsteps getting louder and louder as they approach. His door rattles before creaking open just a crack. Luke looks down when something hits his leg and the door is slammed making him jump and clutch at his chest. The padlock clicks shut and the footsteps fade away before he starts looking for the projectile that just hit him.  
  
The shack is too dark for him to see, so he starts feeling around for the object. His breathing gets shallower the longer he searches. His fingers come in contact with rocks that poke his fingers, dirt that makes his skin crawl and a spider that makes him scream. Luke stands up, pressing his back into the wall farthest from where he thinks he felt the small arachnid. He tries to inhale deeply and think rationally but he can’t, not without Michael. He knows in his head that the spider can’t actually do him any harm, but for some unknown reason he can’t believe it. His breathing stays uneven, getting more and more erratic. He starts to get light headed and dizzy making his eyes water. He realizes that if he passes out he can’t avoid the spider. This of course, only makes him faint faster.  
  
Ashton and Calum are ecstatic for the granola bar as that’s the only thing they’ve been given to eat in almost two days. The fact that they can barely move, their ears are picking up every little brush of wind and they feel like their boiling alive is driving both of them insane; the heat is only made worse by the confined space and the lack of visibility is making them pay attention to all that they have to hear. They miss each other and are worrying constantly. They’re worrying about their friends and how they’re coping. They’re worrying about how they’re going to get out of the shacks and this place. They’re worrying about what state they would get out of this place in. They also spend their time blaming every person for getting them into this situation; Ashton for giving Jack the idea of the fair, Jack for suggesting the fair to Michael, Michael for convincing Luke, Luke for being too afraid of the ride to stay with them and Calum for not staying with Luke even though he hates the tilt-a-whirl. They blame Luke the most. If the boy wasn’t so scared then they wouldn’t have had to watch him all the time or look for him after he went missing. If it are Jack that went missing they would have just waited for him to show up again. Both of them then felt guilty for blaming everyone, especially Luke for something he can’t control. They both know it’s no one’s fault but it’s easier accepting that one of them did something then accepting that these people are just sick and want something from them. Before either could think much more of what’s wanted of them they fell into a restless sleep.  
  
The next few days are spent with a two of the captives being forced into helping do small tasks for the day then getting a water bottle and granola bar to eat at night. The gang is growing weak and starting to feel helpless. They have been gone just over a week now but there is no other sign of life around. The clowns seem to have disappeared. None of them have been seen or heard from in at least three days. The strongmen are getting more on edge as the days pass. They’re double checking all of the so far completed tasks and watching closely when new ones are being done. Jack notices Danny staring out towards the tree line. He looked like he’s just waiting for something, the clowns to return the boy guesses. The days drag on like this for about a week longer. The tasks slow down and the strongmen seem to act more and more like watch dogs just waiting for their master to come home.  
  
One night footsteps are heard waking Michael. The rainbow haired boy jumps slightly, his movement being restricted by the small confines of the shack. He shifts his position on the ground, moving so he can hear what is happening around him. With his ear pressed to the wall of his shack, he hears that there are too many footsteps for it to only be the clowns and the strongmen. His mind creates images of them being rescued and it brings a small smile to his face. The smile is instantly swiped from his face when he hears the sound of people hitting the inside walls of shacks. The sound repeats itself four more times before heavy footsteps fade and cease. Michael begins to wonder how many more times these people are going to kidnap before they have enough kids to fulfill their purpose. He doesn’t even want to start thinking about what that could be.  
  
The next morning all the kids get a water bottle and granola bar as always before their door is re-locked. No chores are done that day. For the next week, no chores are done but every few nights more people are being thrown into shacks. The clowns are never heard or seen. The strongmen are only seen when they’re given food. And none of the other captives make any noise. The whole area is deathly silent. The only thing that has changed is they are no longer given granola bars, their captors have decided to give them protein bars instead.  
  
The next week Michael, Jack, Luke, Calum and Ashton finally get a glimpse at the other victims; they all look different but there are many patterns. Except for their own, all groups have three boys two girls, at least one boy has blue eyes, the girls are all petite, and the boys all have broad shouldered full frames. The groups are told not to talk to each other and if they don’t do as instructed there will be punishment.  
  
The strongmen inform them all to run. There only guideline is stay in between the two men and not to differ from the path. Danny then sets the pace, Michael’s group following. The other strongman- who still remains nameless- follows in behind the other four groups maintaining pace and making sure none of them make a run for it. One boy gets brave and tries to run away from the group, but before he can get very far Danny has him over his shoulder and is leading everyone back to the clearing.  
  
Danny marches to the far side of the clearing towards the trailers and kicks at some dead grass and leaves revealing a wooden plank. He lifts the thick piece of wood and drops the boy inside before placing the plank back over the hole. The strongman then re-covers the plank and began leading the others into their usual shacks for the night. About an hour later they’re given their water and protein bar.  
  
The next three days they did similar training and the food was increased but the boy wasn’t seen. The night of the third day once they’re done their run the strongmen lead them back to the spot where the hole is concealed. They lifted the plank and both men leaned down to hoist the boy up. Once on solid ground the group of kids noticed the boy is wet and shaking. The men look at him expectantly. He shakes more before muttering “I won’t try that again”. They’re all lead back to the shacks.  
  
Three more weeks of this and everyone was in much better shape than they were before. The clowns finally came back. Both the clowns and strongmen had an excited look to them, a bounce in their step and a light in their eyes, except Boozo who looks more nervous than usual. Michael is getting more and more nervous the happier their captors look. He refuses to let his mind wander to ideas behind the excitement. But later that night he gets his answer.  
  
There is no light passing under the door of his shack as Michael sat with his knees against his chest and his back leaning on the wall waiting for sleep to claim him. He hears people milling about outside the shacks. He hears Bella listing off things while the strongmen and Boozo checked they’re complete. After she finished her list she claps her hands and says the others will be arriving soon. Less than ten minutes later the sounds of many happy people start floating toward the shacks. The sound builds and builds until the footsteps stop. It’s silent for a moment before greetings start. It’s sounding as if family’s reuniting. Through the sounds of greetings and quick conversations, he keeps hearing “can’t wait for the show to begin” being repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! Thanks for reading this far! 
> 
> ...I have some bad news.... the next part to this isn't written. This will probably only have one to two more parts. You'll have to wait for those. oops.
> 
> wewanthemmoafterdark.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed. come talk to me at wewanthemmoafterdark.tumblr.com :)


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